General manager of Silverbird Cinemas West Africa, Funmi Onuma, has raised concerns over what she described as disorganised film scheduling practices within Nigeria’s cinema distribution chain.
In an open letter shared on her Instagram page on Monday, Funmi said cinema operators are often criticised when films underperform, even though key challenges begin earlier in the distribution process.
“AN OPEN LETTER – By Silverbird Cinemas Manager Funmi Onuma
“DEAR NIGERIAN FILM DISTRIBUTORS
Let’s have the conversation nobody seems to want to have.
“Cinema operators get called out constantly. By producers. By audiences. By the press. And sometimes, honestly it’s fair. We can do better. We know that. But there is a silence in this industry that is costing us all. And it sits squarely with film distribution.
“Here is a reality I live with regularly:
Showtimes for a film & sometimes a highly anticipated one are still being negotiated on the morning of release. Hours before the first screening. In some cases, I have received calls the same day asking us to programme a film that day.
“Do you understand what that does to a film’s opening weekend?
No marketing alignment. No advance booking window. No time to build anticipation. The first week which is everything for a film’s commercial life is quietly strangled before it even begins.
And yet when the numbers disappoint, who gets called out?
“The cinema operator.
I was once asked to provide a schedule of planned meet-and-greets for an upcoming period. I couldn’t. Not because I didn’t want to. Because I genuinely did not know what was coming or when. That is not a system. That is chaos dressed up as an industry.
“To the producers and filmmakers I deeply respect, I need you to hold your distribution partners to the same standard you hold us. They are part of this chain. They are not invisible. And the dysfunction at that link affects everything downstream, including your film’s performance.
“To the distribution companies, I’m not here to embarrass anyone. I’m here because I believe we can build something that actually works. But that requires showing up like professionals. Advance communication. Structured timelines. Mutual respect for the process.
“We cannot speak about growing African cinema in global conversations while operating like this internally.
I stand open to that dialogue.”
Funmi became general manager of Silverbird Cinemas West Africa in 2024 after previously serving as country manager for Silverbird Cinemas Ghana.
Her comments come amid ongoing discussions in the Nigerian film industry about coordination between cinemas, distributors and filmmakers. In recent years, several filmmakers and public figures have also raised concerns about last minute scheduling, limited marketing windows and how these issues can affect box office performance and film visibility in cinemas.
